Friday Five for May 13, 2016

1. One short story rejection. One new flash piece written. I sent it in to my local critique group for this month's meeting.

2. Writing is still going slow. I should skip over the first chapter that's giving me trouble, but I keep digging in my heels. I only need one little idea to make it work. It hasn't come to me yet.

3. Two weeks left of school. I'm not ready yet! Next week, I'm a chaperone for my son's school zoo trip. His school does not allow chaperones to ride on the buses, so I'll have to drive to the zoo and meet them there. You would think the teachers would like to have the extra help on the bus during the hour ride there and back!

4. I was asked by one of the authors in my local group to participate in a panel for a class at the university. I agreed... and now I'm super anxious! I love to talk about writing, but I've never been good in front of an audience. As long as I don't faint and/or lose my voice, I think I'll be okay.

5. On the agenda for my weekend: a kid's birthday party and gardening. I need to get those seedlings in the ground before it rains again! Maybe we'll take our little guy to his first drive-in movie too. Everyone needs to experience the drive-in at least once. Have you ever been to a drive-in?

Have a terrific weekend!

Friday Five for October 16, 2015

(Today my blog post is wearing pink in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.)

1. One week until the release of Poltergeist's Pleasure (The Paramours #2). This is a great read for people who want a ghost story but don't want to be scared. Add it to read on Goodreads.

2. One short story rejections this week. It was a hard one since I had been short listed by a pro venue. I submitted it elsewhere the same day. I also got a rewrite and resubmit for a noirish police flash piece. Did that too! Plus tomorrow is my local critique group meeting. I sent in an old flash piece. Hopefully they found some potential in it and I'll have another story to send out.

3. I caught up on everything I missed the previous week, and I wrote out several blog posts for the next five weeks. It feels good when I have everything ready to go and I can spend my time reading other people's blogs.

4. I was hit by a nasty bug on Wednesday and lost my day of writing. I slept 17 hours in total and couldn't manage to eat a thing. I feel better now, and thankfully my husband and son haven't caught it.

5. I booked a blog tour for The Paramours the first week of February. Yup, I'm planning way ahead! I'll keep you updated on the details.

Have a great weekend!

(We had tons of fun at the pumpkin patch last weekend!)

Friday Five for August 21, 2015

1. I've had an awesome week of writing. I finished the second novelette in my newest series and I'm a few chapters in to the third and final. This trilogy came together in a flash and it's been so much fun to write. Two of my critique partners have read the first book and loved it. Yes!

2. I had one short story rejection this week and submitted two more elsewhere. I keep a record of my submissions in a little notebook, but I think maybe I should keep a spreadsheet on the computer. That poor notebook is looking a mess!

3. My Google searches this week have included what does it feel like to be possessed by a good spirit (for my current project) and the Inuit god of icebergs and glaciers named Nootaikok (for a future project). Sometimes it's dangerous to do searches on these things because they can be so fascinating that I end up reading more and more pages rather than writing.

4. With my son now in public school, I worry about all the germs and such he can pick up. Ours is also one of the states that have been warned to be on the look-out for mutated head lice. Mutant lice. My brain is coming up with all sorts of disturbing images! There's got to be a story in there somewhere.

5. The weather has cooled down and I'm getting excited at the approach of autumn. It'll be time to go to the apple orchard and then the pumpkin patch. I love those fall trips! This weekend, we'll hopefully get out for a walk in the woods. Have a great weekend!

Friday Five for October 24, 2014

1. I finished the second D&D novella! Woot! It's off with my critique partners now, hopefully making them giggle. Now on to the third one. I had hoped to have them all done by the end of this month, but a broken wrist throws a bone in the wheel of productivity.

2. One short story rejection this week. Two still out there. Submitting short stories is a great way not only to get your name out there, but to build thicker skin.

3. Today I'm assisting at my son's preschool. We made pretzel rod ghosts and grape goblins for a snack. My little guy is super excited about Halloween. I can't wait to see all the kids in their costumes. Are any of you dressing up?

4. I've been watching quite a few new shows this season. And tonight is the premiere of Constantine. I've been oohing and aahing over the commercials. Not that I need to add another show to my schedule, but it looks awesome!

5. Something wicked comes this Sunday. Wicked good! Creepy Freebies is the brilliant idea of Milo James Fowler. Because what's better than candy? Free reads and giveaways! I'll be giving away a signed copy of The 13th Floor Complete Collection. Don't miss out on all the freebies from the participating authors.

Have a great weekend!

Friday Five for May 30, 2014

1. I finished my revisions for WIP #1. It went through some major changes, but it's beautiful. Now I need to find the editor that thinks so too. I queried three publishers earlier this week. I already received one rejection. Yup, two days after I queried, I was rejected. Remarkably, I wasn't totally devastated. I'd love to get picked up by a publisher, but if the manuscript doesn't find a home somewhere, I will self-publish it. A few years ago, I wouldn't have been comfortable with that possibility, but I am now.

2. No word on any of the short stories or the novella I submitted. Waiting never gets any easier.

3. My son had his last day of school and now summer vacation begins. Unfortunately for the poor guy, it starts with him feeling sick. Yet he really wanted to go to his last day of school. I'm happy he loves it so much.

4. Did you see Annalisa Crawford's awesome new cover? Check it out.

5. There are two fabulous giveaways happening over on Untethered Realms. Mary Pax is having a Roadtrip Audiobook giveaway, and Cherie Reich is giving away a huge prize pack of several books including a signed print version of her new YA fantasy novel, REBORN.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Friday Five for August 2, 2013

1. Not a terribly productive week. The boy only took one nap, and we've had some late nights. I started my bonus short story for the 13th Floor collection, but it's still in the beginning scene. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll get some time to write today and on the weekend.

2. I received another rejection to add to my pile. I've been feeling frustrated with myself. I consumed way too many Oreos this week. I even tried my first fired Oreo at the county fair. I prefer them not to be battered and soggy.

3. In just over two weeks, the boy will be heading back to preschool. He's excited about it and so am I. Having three mornings to myself a week will help with my productivity and hopefully my stress levels.

4. I wasted a night last night watching G.I.Joe: Retaliation. Why oh why did I watch the whole thing? It was a bad movie and not in a good way. I was big on the comics and TV show when I was young. That's my only excuse.

5. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! I'll leave you with a cute picture of my son playing at the park.

Friday Five for June 21, 2013

1. Check out YA fantasy author Graeme Ing's blog later this evening for an interview with me. He's featuring each of the Untethered Realms authors over the next few months. Don't miss out on all the news and teasers about our upcoming books.

2. Some of you know that I'm a vivid dreamer. I remember at least one dream every night. Much of my inspiration comes from them. This week, I had one of my dreams analyzed on Sculpted Dreams. I'm case #4. There's a monster, an immortal, and a great discovery. Stop on by and let me know what you think it means!

3. I'm so close to finishing THE GHOST. All my best lines have been coming near the end. I'm so happy with the way it's going. I only have one major worry: is it good enough to end the series? I'll talk more about this in July IWSG post. The end of the series. I'm a little stunned about that!

4. It's been a long week. Lots going on outside the house. My little guy has a huge poison ivy rash. Poor boy. It just keeps spreading. He scratches at it in his sleep. Do you have any secrets how to help with a poison ivy rash? We've got Cortizone to take away the itch, but I don't know how well that's working.

5. My local writer's group meets tomorrow. They really liked my story last month, and I submitted it to Daily Science Fiction. I was short-listed, but this week, I got the standard rejection email. I bought some ice cream, drowned my sorrows in creamy delight, and submitted the story to another press. We've just got to keep trying.

Have a great weekend!

Winners of The Alpha blog tour giveaway and updates

My little guy is singing a song in honor of the winners of The Alpha blog tour giveaway. Thank you so much to everyone who entered. Next month, I'll be having another giveaway with The Dragonslayer blog tour. Check the 13th Floor series page for all the stops. It's a big one this time around!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congratulations to the winners! I've already emailed you.

I'm working hard on the next book in the 13th Floor series. My son has stopped having naps, so I've lost a good chunk of my writing time. It's frustrating, but it was inevitable. If I'm around even less on the blogs, I hope you'll forgive me. I need to write. I had hoped he'd still take naps for another year. At least I have two mornings a week while he's in school, and starting the next school year, he'll be doing three mornings a week.

I received my first rejection for the year. It was from Tor. I was aiming high! Also, another anthology I had a story in has been cancelled. The publisher has closed down. I didn't get an email or any sort of notice. I found out on a friend's blog. Now I need to start submitting stories elsewhere because I have nothing out there at the moment.

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend! I'll see you on Monday for the Re-Introduce Myself Blogfest.

Friday Five for June 8th

1. My sci-fi flash piece was rejected. I sighed, ate some Oreos, and submitted it to another press.

2. I finished my short story for June. It's fantasy romance and it includes a battalion of undead. I've sent it out to my critique partners, and after another edit, I'll send it in to my writer's group to be critiqued at this month's meeting.

3. I tried out Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition this week. Oh, wait, not 5th. Next. D&D Next. *rolls eyes* It was fun. I like it better than 4th edition, but I prefer the earlier editions or the Pathfinder setting. It'd been a long time since I sat down and rolled dice with the guys. I miss it, but I prefer to spend what little free time I have writing instead.

4. My son has been doing excellently with his toilet training this week. That's at home, though. He's terrified of other bathrooms. He'll scream and cry if I take him into one. I'm not sure how to help him with this. He's too young yet to reason with, especially when he gets in that frightened mindset.

5. I saw a group of seniors at the park on Wednesday morning. They were taking their morning walk. Since there weren't many children at the playground, the seniors came over to investigate. They climbed to the top of the three story castle, and one of the men who had a cane went down the twisty slide. Four of the women climbed up on the rope spiderweb. It was awesome. I heard one of the ladies say her great-grandson would love to come to that park. I hope I'm still that playful when I'm that age.

Return of the Jedi, uh, I mean, GeekWriterMom

This post has nothing to do with pirate kitties, but my head has been fuzzy with travel hang-over. I've got so much to do, it's nice to take a moment to breathe and giggle over an lolcat.

Hello! I'm back from my visit with my family. It was great to see everyone, but it's rough traveling with a toddler who hates to travel. Every hour, he asked to go home. Poor little guy. We learned he talks in his sleep and can climb out of his playpen. He slept very well - we all did - when we got home.

I've lots of catching up to do. Welcome to my new followers and thank you to everyone who left such awesome comments. I'm so happy you're loving the story. The A to Z Challenge has been incredible!

My first rejection of the year was waiting for me when I got home. Ah well. I'll try the story elsewhere. I have to write something for April yet too. Oh boy.

My son turns two this coming Friday. I need to prepare for his party. We're barbecuing and having a decorate your own cupcake and sundae dessert bar. Good times!

With his turning two, I've been busy making his annual photo book on Shutterfly. I want to do one for him every year throughout his childhood. It's so much fun to create books on that site.

Okay. Time to visit some of your blogs!

Chocolate for the rejected, please

I queried my latest WIP and I was rejected. Rejected fast and hard.

Right now I'm eating chocolate and ice cream, feeling like it isn't worth it in the end. The rejection depression is not good right when NaNoWriMo is due to start. I lost the desire for it. I ask myself why I bother when I'm never going to be good enough.

I know when Tuesday rolls around, I'll force myself to start up on NaNoWriMo even if I'm still feeling depressed. I have no doubt I'll get caught up in it and let that creative rush bring me back my love of writing. Even if it isn't NaNoWriMo, it will be another story. My compulsion to write, the ecstasy of it, always comes back.

It's just at moments like this that I feel the lowest of the low.

I aimed high. I queried the number one epublisher of romance. I'll go over my cover letter, synopsis and manuscript again. I'll query the number two press next.

I also wanted to let everyone know that my posts will be shorter and less frequent in November. Some posts might just be my NaNo word count for the day. I won't be able to read and comment on blogs as often either. Most of you know how NaNoWriMo consumes you. Please don't think I've forgotten about you. Come December, I'll be making the rounds routinely again.

Good luck to everyone doing NaNoWriMo! The buddy tool still isn't working. I hope they get it fixed soon.

Update: A big thank you to Josh Hoyt and Krista for giving me The Versatile Blogger Award. You made me smile today.

Number 59

The cold is sticking around. It dug itself a trench and is defending its territory. My son has been throwing up again. My nose is red. Ruby red. It's embarrassing, really. I hope I don't feel this horrible when I go to my first writer's group meeting on Saturday.

I've edited and submitted two short stories this week. One to a zombie anthology and a second to a fantasy magazine. I'm trying to get my story published in a SFWA certified publication. It's hard. Incredibly hard. I was rejected for the fantasy story this morning. I submitted it to another magazine. I love the submission status checker. I can be obsessive checking it. I'm 59 in the queue. It will likely be a longer wait with this one.

I want to start editing my latest manuscript, but it seems my son doesn't want to nap. I need to go blow my nose again, too.

One of those Mondays

I knew it wasn't going to be a great day today when my son started to get stuffed up on the weekend. He's thrown up twice today and is fighting taking a nap. It's nearly dinnertime. Please, take a nap! How people with children and a full-time job manage to find time to write amazes me. That's dedication.

I received a short story rejection this morning. I was short-listed, but I got the basic email rejection. I've gotten a lot of rejections over the years, but it's a little harder to take the ones when you've been short-listed first. I really like this little story, too, because it's my only hard boiled detective story true to the noir style. I hope to find a home for it some time soon.

This coming Saturday, I'm attending my first meeting of the South Central Indiana Fiction Interface (S.C.I.F.I.). I'm excited I was invited to join. The two writers I've met through email so far are highly experienced. I'm sure I'll learn a lot from the group. I submitted a short story to be critiqued during the meeting. There are only two other stories being critiqued. That makes me nervous. I'm a shy person and I have social anxiety. I'm terrified of speaking in front of groups. Yet I know it's important to do these things if I want to become a professional writer. I have done read and critiques at conventions before. I've gotten faint, blushed a deep red, almost lost my voice, and trembled so that my hands were shaking as I held the paper. I don't know how to chase away the anxiety. I just have to do it. It isn't the end of the world no matter how much it might feel like it. Are there any tricks that you use to help when you're speaking in front of a group? I welcome any tips and advice.